1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparel. Specifically, the present invention relates to a soccer helmet and method.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Soccer (also called xe2x80x9cfootballxe2x80x9d) is one of the world""s most popular sports. Like many rigorous activities, soccer involves risk of injury, including head injury. Obvious causes of head injury in soccer include head collisions with another player""s head, elbow, knee, foot, and so forth. Head injuries may also occur when the head collides into a goal post or when the player falls head first onto the ground. More often than once thought, these types of injuries can result in xe2x80x9cconcussions.xe2x80x9d It is well documented in the literature the potential short term and long term effects of single event concussions and multiple concussions.
A less obvious, but apparently real, cause of head injury in soccer is the repetitive use of the head to direct a soccer ball in what is typically called a xe2x80x9cheaderxe2x80x9d. Several studies have shown that heading can cause minor cumulative brain damage. Soccer players who repeatedly headed the ball during their careers were found to have chronic changes on the electroencephalograms (EEGs) similar to the changes found in amateur boxers. These players were found to have chronic mild to severe deficits in attention, concentration, memory, and judgement. Children who had less experience heading the soccer ball were found to have greater changes in the EEGs.
Such head injuries, even if minor, can have a serious impact on the quality of life. Nearly every aspect of living can be affected. Cognitive symptoms of head injury include difficulty in processing information, shortened attention span, inability to understand abstract concepts, impaired decision-making ability, inability to shift mental tasks or to follow multi-step directions, memory loss or impairment, and language deficits. Perceptual symptoms include change in vision, hearing or sense of touch; loss of sense of time and space and spatial disorientation; disorders of smell and taste; altered sense of balance; and increased pain sensitivity. Physical symptoms include persistent headaches; extreme mental and/or physical fatigue; disorders of movement; seizure activity; impaired small motor control; photosensitivity; sleep disorders; paralysis; and speech that is not clear due to poor control of the muscles in the lips, tongue and jaw and/or poor breathing patterns. Behavioral and emotional symptoms include irritability; impatience; reduced tolerance for stress; lack of initiative; dependence; failure to assume responsibility for one""s actions; denial of disability; lack of inhibition; inflexibility; and flattened or heightened emotional reactions. Needless to say, the effect of head injury on the quality of life is far reaching.
While the number of individuals participating in soccer is too difficult to ascertain precisely, estimates made in the early 1980s have it that there were more than 22 million amateur participants. Currently, this number may be closer to 40 million or more participants considering the increased popularity of soccer during the 1990s. Thus, considering the immense number of individuals participating in soccer worldwide, and considering the potential wide-ranging effect of head injury on the quality of life, even a slight risk of head injury in soccer has great impact upon individual health as well as world health.
A head guard aimed at providing a limited degree of head protection in soccer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,852 issued to Romero on Oct. 13, 1987. The Romero device includes a resilient, rectangular contact portion for contacting and absorbing perspiration from the player""s forehead, and a corresponding outer layer for frictionally contacting the soccer ball.
The Romero device aims to protect the forehead from minor tearing and breaking of capillaries in the skin of the forehead. The Romero device does not disclose that it protects against more serious injuries such as repetitive or single event brain injuries or concussions. Furthermore, although a proper header is performed by striking the forehead against the ball, such headers are not always possible due to the inexperience of the player or due to the heat of competition. Some evidence shows that these types of improper headers give rise to a higher risk of head injury. Thus, the Romero device does not provide consistent head protection, and provides no head protection for higher risk headers in which the soccer ball impacts with areas other than the forehead. Furthermore, areas other than the forehead are left exposed to acute injury such as that resulting from head collisions with other players or objects.
From a performance standpoint, the Romero device also might actually interfere with heading if the soccer ball hits the edge of the rectangular pad, rather than its center. The abrupt edge could rebound the soccer ball in a direction much different than if the soccer ball rebounded off a smoother surface such as an unprotected head.
Helmets have conventionally been used in most sports which involve a risk of head injury such as American football, baseball, ice hockey, lacrosse, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, equestrian sports, and rock climbing. However, conventional helmets would seriously interfere with heading and thus interfere with the very nature of the sport of soccer. Conventional helmets have not been seriously considered for use in soccer despite the relatively new awareness of the potential of acute and chronic problems from head injuries in soccer.
Therefore, an apparatus and method are desired for providing more comprehensive protection to a soccer player""s head without interfering with heading.
In accordance with the present invention, a soccer helmet includes a generally dome-shaped padding layer and a generally dome-shaped shell layer fitting over and attached to the padding layer. The padding layer might have a substantially uniform thickness of approximately xe2x85x9c inches. The shell layer is smooth and has some rigidity such that, when the soccer helmet is being worn on a human head, a soccer ball will rebound from the shell layer in substantially the same direction, and with substantially the same speed, or with greater speed, as the ball would if rebounded off an unprotected head. Therefore, the soccer helmet does not interfere with a header. A high friction material or finish may be disposed on the forehead portion of the shell layer to allow for better control over the soccer ball.
A soccer helmet padding layer may be formed with a uniform thickness at an area corresponding to a human forehead. The thickness of the padding layer in other areas may vary according to the user""s preference. Furthermore, the padding layer may include channels on the inside surface to ventilate and control perspiration from a player""s head. A soccer helmet shell layer formed to fit over the soccer helmet padding layer is attached to the soccer helmet padding layer. The soccer helmet padding layer may be removed from the soccer helmet shell layer without damage to either the padding layer or shell layer.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.